A Moment of Dreams
by mockingjay371
Summary: The Narnian troops flew by him in a blur. He turned around and fought his way against the oncoming soldiers. "They'll be fine with one less sword," he told himself. He had to find Lizzie, and that was all that mattered to him. Edmund/OC
1. Exploration and Things

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Moores and Maggie. C. S. Lewis owns the rest. :)

A/N: Okay, so I know the first chapter is pretty lame, but it will get better (at least I like to think so :P) I know Narnia's not even mentioned in the first chapter, but it's coming so just hang on! Rated T just to be on the safe side. Anywho, enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Exploration and Things**

She stared out the window, tracing her fingers lightly on the glass. Lost in her thoughts, she thought of everything that was being left behind. Her mum, the few friends she had, and the only home she had ever known. A single tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away, hoping no one had seen it. _"Why does it have to be this way?" _she asked herself. Her little brother's voice tore her out of her thoughts.

"Lizzie?" he asked softly as he moved closer to her on the train bench. She put her arm around him as he leaned his head on her shoulder. "When will we be able to go home?"

"I don't know, Ben. I hope it's soon," she replied.

Lizzie looked around the small train booth. Her older sister Anna was reading _Pride and Prejudice_, while her older brother Thomas was reading a sports article. Everything seemed normal, but it was not. They, too, along with just about every child in London, were being sent to live with someone out in the country to get away from the air raids. Their father had left a year ago to serve in the war as a pilot, and Lizzie missed him terribly, as the two of them were extremely close. She fingered the locket that hung around her neck. Her dad had given it to her the day he left.

"You know, it's not fair that you were always his favorite. Why didn't he spend as much time with _me_?" asked Thomas in a snobby voice, with a look on his face that matched it. He had apparently seen her touch the necklace.

"Maybe if you weren't so beastly to everyone, people would actually want to spend time with you." Lizzie snapped back.

"Oh, yeah? Well than how can he stand to be around you?"

"Stop it, both of you!" Anna broke in. "You're acting like children half your age. Mum said to behave, and that includes all of us!" Silence once again took command in the booth, and no one spoke again for the rest of the trip.

* * *

At the station, a few children got off the train, including Lizzie and her siblings. A middle aged couple and an elderly lady stood on the platform.

"Who did you say we are staying with?" Lizzie whispered in Anna's ear.

But before Anna could reply, the elderly lady approached them.

"Well! You must be the Moore children! My name is Polly Plummer, but you can call me Aunt Polly. You all will be staying with me for a while. My automobile is this way, if you'll bring your luggage." The children piled into the car, Anna in the front seat with Aunt Polly, and Lizzie sandwiched between her brothers in the backseat. Right away Anna and Aunt Polly struck up a conversation, already feeling quite comfortable with each other. Meanwhile, in the back seat, all was quiet.

"Is everyone alright back there? You're awfully quiet." said Aunt Polly after a few minutes. "Silly me for asking such a question!" she exclaimed. "I'm sure you all are exhausted after your trip. As soon we get to my place, you all can go right to bed and get some rest." Thomas rolled his eyes.

"Does she think we're babies or something that we need a nap?" he whispered in Lizzie's ear. She glared at him.

A short while later they arrived at a decently sized one-story house. Lizzie thought it looked like a cottage that you would go to on summer holiday. Inside it was very cozy, but nothing fancy. Aunt Polly proceeded show them to their rooms.

"I hope you enjoy your stay. Please make yourselves at home. We are so glad to have some children around to bring a little life back into things," Aunt Polly said with a pleasant laugh.

"We?" Anna asked with a quizzical look on her face. "We thought you lived by yourself."

"Just me and Maggie. She's my maid. She's probably in the kitchen making supper. You'll have to meet her later, as she doesn't like being disturbed while doing housework," said Aunt Polly, laughing again. "Well, I suppose I should let you get settled in. Supper will be at 5:30." With that she left the children in the hallway.

The girls were sharing a room directly across from the boys'. As they unpacked, the two didn't say much. It didn't take them long to finish, since they hadn't brought much. It was now 3:30.

"Well, should we go see if the boys are done?" asked Anna.

"Yes, let's," replied Lizzie.

The boys were done, and sitting on their beds. Ben was playing with his army men. Thomas was staring at the ceiling. Both looked at the girls as they came in.

"What should we do? We have two hours until dinner," said Ben.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm pretty tired. I'd like to just rest for awhile," said Anna.

"So she's already brainwashing you, eh?" said Thomas.

"If you can't say anything nice…"

"Don't say anything at all. I know, I know. You don't have to remind me," said Thomas, finishing Anna's sentence for her.

"You sure don't act like it," Anna retorted as she and Lizzie walked out of the room.

The girls returned to their room, put on some more comfortable clothes, and got in their beds. Lizzie lay there, unable to sleep. Anna, on the other hand, had no problem, and fell asleep quickly. Lizzie listened to her steady breathing for about half an hour before she decided to get up and explore the house. She got up and pulled on a sweater before quietly slipping out of the room and shutting the door behind her. The door to the boys' room was slightly ajar. Lizzie peeked in and saw that they were both asleep as well.

She went down the hall and tried to open the door of the first room she came to. It was unlocked. She went in, and saw that it was another bedroom. It was obvious that someone lived in that room. Lizzie guessed that it was Aunt Polly, so she left and closed the door.

The next room she tried appeared to be a library or a study. There were bookshelves lining the walls, and a desk in the middle of the room. Lizzie walked over to one of the bookshelves and started looking at the titles. The books had strange titles, like _Magical Worlds: Do They Exist?_ and _The Difference Between Magic and Sorcery_. She pulled one off its shelf and started flipping through, but then declared it 'boring' and put it back. Seeing as there was nothing interesting left in this room, she moved on.

She found the next room to be another occupied living space, presumably the maid's, so Lizzie decided to leave that room alone. Just as she was about to try the handle of the next room, she heard voices nearby, so she quickly but quietly snuck back to her own room. Finding her sister still asleep, she crept into bed and stayed there until it was time to wash up for supper.

* * *

"Did you sleep?" asked Anna as she combed her hair in preparation for supper.

"Nope. But you sure did," Lizzie replied, having just washed her face. Anna laughed.

"I guess I hadn't realized how tired I was. Anyway, I wonder what we'll do while were here? All the way out in the country like this, there can't be a whole lot to do."

"I don't know. I've been wondering the same thing myself. After all, it's not like there's many other people to do things with."

"Well, by any means, I'm sure we'll have a good time."

"Yeah, but I just hope that we're not the only ones who have a good mind about it."

"I know what you mean."

* * *

Supper was a wonderful time. The food was delicious, and it gave the children a good chance to get to know Aunt Polly and Maggie. Aunt Polly was definitely very talkative, as was Maggie. They were both eager to learn everything about the children.

"So do you all like school?" asked Aunt Polly.

"Well, all but Thomas. He hates it, but the rest of us love it," replied Anna.

"I love school! It's so much fun to learn everything and make new friends," Ben said with much enthusiasm.

Maggie chuckled. "And what's your favorite subject?"

"Oh, I like all of them. But science is definitely the best. And math is second," replied Ben.

"What kinds of things do you young people do in your free time?" said Aunt Polly.

"All sorts of things, but it depends on the season," Thomas said.

"Like in the winter we like to go ice skating and sledding," said Ben.

"And in the summer we like to play cricket and go swimming," Anna added. "And what about you? What do the two of you do for fun?"

"Oh, we're too old to get out and do much of anything these days," said Aunt Polly with a laugh.

Maggie nodded in agreement. "We just stay around here and mind our business."

"What kind of business?" asked Ben.

"Ben! You know better than to go asking questions like that! If they wanted to tell us, they would do so without you asking," Anna said.

"It's all right dear. It's just us. We don't mind curious children, do we, Polly?" Maggie said.

"Oh no, of course not! I guess you could say our business is keeping up the house, gardening, and such," said Aunt Polly. She then turned to Lizzie, who was sitting next to her. "Are you alright, dearie? You haven't said a word the whole meal!"

"Oh I'm fine thank you," Lizzie replied with a smile.

"She's usually the quiet one of the bunch," said Anna with a smile.

"But not always! Sometimes she's the most talkative!" said Ben.

"Well. I suppose I'll start cleaning up," said Maggie as everyone rose from the table.

"Lizzie and I will help," Anna said.

"Heavens no! You're guests here! No, I can take care of it. Thank you, though, sweetheart," Maggie replied.

After supper, everyone went to their own room to relax. Anna continued reading her book, while Lizzie laid on her bed and thought about everything that had happened in the last few days. She thought about the raid, when she and Anna had gotten caught out of the house. Lizzie now had a nasty gash on her face from a piece of flying debris, though Anna hadn't received any injuries.

That night, Lizzie lay awake, unable to sleep once again. She thought about the library she had found, and the curious books on its shelves. _"I wonder what it all means?"_ she thought to herself. _"Perhaps I'll ask Aunt Polly about it in the morning." _


	2. Snow and Stone

Disclaimer: C. S. Lewis still own everything but the Moore's and Maggie.

Ok, so now that there's actually something interesing hopefully it will be better. C&CC is very welcome, so please review! Hope you like it.

**Chapter 2: Snow and Stone**

Sunlight streamed in the window as Lizzie opened her eyes the next morning. She got up and saw that Anna was awake and gone. She pulled on some clothes and went to see what everyone else was doing.

Lizzie walked into the parlor to see Aunt Polly and her siblings about to walk out.

"Morning, sleepy head!" said Ben.

"Why, what time is it?"

"Almost nine o'clock."

"Well, you're just in time for breakfast, dearie," Aunt Polly declared.

"You were sleeping so soundly when I woke up that I decided not to wake you, unlike usual," Anna said with a smile.

"Thanks. I was really tired," returning the smile.

Breakfast was as scrumptious as supper had been the night before. Once they had finished eating, the children went outside to play. It was a lovely day out; the sun was shining, and there was a refreshing breeze. Tag was voted by the majority, and Ben volunteered to be it. They played all morning, glad to be able to get some fresh air after being cooped up in a stuffy train the day before. After dinner, they spent the afternoon playing kick the can. When called in for supper, they decided to call it a day and went inside.

* * *

That evening Aunt Polly, Anna, And Maggie spent their time talking in the parlor while the boys went for a walk. Lizzie decided to continue her exploring from the previous day, and found her way back to the room she had left of on yesterday. She turned the handle, and the door creaked open in front of her.

She walked in and, looking around, couldn't figure out what this room was supposed to be_. "Maybe it's a second parlor?" _she thought to herself. The light from the sunset cast an eerie glow on the room, sending long shadows across her path. The one thing that caught her eye, though, was a door directly on the other side of the room from where she was standing. A sudden urge came over her to find out what was behind it. She slowly started walking across the room, the floor creaking beneath her weight. Stopping in front of the door, she placed her hand on the knob and slowly turned it. Obviously it had not been used for some time, for it squeaked loudly.

Lizzie was taken slightly aback at what she saw behind the door. It was not a closet or anything like what she had expected. Instead, a staircase went up on her right. There was no light besides what was coming from the windows back in the room. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Lizzie turned and started up the steps.

The stairs went one flight up and then turned ninety degrees and went up another flight. This was very confusing to Lizzie, as she distinctly remembered the house being only one story. Subconsciously she pulled her sweater tighter around herself, not realizing that she had suddenly gotten cold.

At the top of the second flight, there was another door. Lizzie stopped, not knowing whether to open it or go back. She looked back down the stairs, considering what to do. After a few moments she made up her mind to keep going. Taking a deep breath, she paused, and then opened the door.

Lizzie could not believe what she saw, and it took her breath away. Before her was a forest, covered in snow. She cautiously took a step forward, untouched snow crunching beneath her feet. She let her eyes scan her surroundings, and took everything in. Feeling cold moistness under hand as she ran it along a snow-covered branch, she noticed that even though there was a thick layer of snow on everything around her, it was not snowing at the present. The sky above her was gray and dreary. The only sound she heard was her own soft breathing; it was all so peaceful.

She ventured further into the forest, wondering if maybe it was all just a dream. _"Even if it is, I don't want to wake up. At least not yet." _On she walked, the scenery staying the same. After about ten minutes, the trees suddenly ended and she was standing at the edge of the woods. In front of her was a small clearing, at the end of which was a cliff that dropped off to reveal a huge canyon. But before the cliff was a strange looking array stones, all of different shapes and sizes. There were column shaped pillars placed in a circular pattern with a low rectangular one in the middle. The one in the middle had a few small steps leading up to it on all sides that Lizzie could see. Everything was covered in snow.

After observing all this, Lizzie realized she had been holding her breath. She let it out, and took one small step forward. The air was completely still; so still that she was beginning to wonder if she was the only living thing there. Her foot sunk down in the snow, as the snow was deeper here since there were no trees to cover the ground. She took another step, and another, little by little coming closer to the stones. Suddenly her footsteps made a different sound. She had stepped on stone. Inching forward, she reached out her hand and rested it on the edge of the center stone. She kept walking, brushing the snow off the first few inches of it. She felt something odd beneath her hand. Stopping, she lifted her hand from the stone and saw some form of odd writing that she couldn't read.

A few more steps brought her to the edge of the precipice. Standing under a sort of archway of stone, she leaned forward ever so slightly to get a better look of the gorge. The view was breathtaking; she could find no words to describe it. She stood there for who knows how long just soaking in the gorgeous scenery before her.

Then something jerked her out of her thoughts. Something made a noise nearby. It took all of her courage to not scream. She looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the sound. She heard it again, this time it was closer. This time she didn't wait to try and see what it was. She turned back toward the woods and started running as fast as her legs would carry her. The noise came again; it sounded as if it was following her. Her heart was racing as she ran through the woods, trying to get away from whatever had made the sound. Somehow she found her way back to where she came in, running the whole way. She ran through the doorway, down the stairs, and back into the room where it had all started. Slamming the door shut, she sank to the floor in front of it, sitting with her back against it and breathing heavily.

But if she had stayed to see what it was that made the noise, she would have seen that it was only an average size white bird, that had perched itself atop one of the stone pillars.

* * *

That night as Lizzie lay in bed, she thought about what had happened that evening. How could it be real? How could there be snow on the ground in the middle of summer? So many other questions she asked herself that night, trying to sort it all out. She wanted so desperately to believe it, but yet it seemed so impossible. She hadn't told anyone about what she had found; she knew they would all think she was crazy. By the time she fell asleep, she had convinced herself it was real. She slept restlessly that night.

* * *

She was walking through the snow-covered wood again, yet it seemed different. No longer was it so peaceful, no longer was it pure. For some reason that she didn't know, she felt frantic and scared. She was standing there in the middle of the trees, feeling trapped. She ran, but she did not know to where. Suddenly she stopped. She heard a voice, but it was not loud enough to hear what it said. Then it came again, this time louder.

"It's just a dream. Wake up."

"No it's not! It's real, I know it is!" Lizzie called back to the voice.

"It's just a dream. Wake up."

"No! It's not a dream! It's real!" she said, this time more desperately. She felt someone shaking her, but no one was there. "Let go of me!" she screamed. "It's not a dream, it's real, it's all real!" All of a sudden, the forest started fading away. The voice persisted, repeating itself over and over again. Then Lizzie realized her eyes were closed. She opened them to see Thomas sitting on the edge of her bed, with his hands on her shoulders, shaking her gently. Anna and Ben were standing behind him.

"It's just a dream. Wake up!" he said.

She sat up hastily. "No! It's all real! It's not just a dream!"

She then realized what she said, and her hand flew to cover her mouth, but it was too late to take back what she said. They all stared at her, and she at them. Finally Anna said something.

"What are you talking about, Lizzie? You were sleeping; it wasn't real."

"But it wasn't. I was there," Lizzie whispered.

"Come on, Lizzie. That's impossible," said Thomas.

"Tell us about it," said Anna.

"I was in the forest with the snow, just like before. Except it was different this time. I don't know what it was, though."

"Wait a second. What do you mean 'just like before'?" said Thomas.

"I didn't tell you, but earlier today I found a door in one of the rooms, and it lead to a wood with snow."

"But its summer. How can that be?" said Anna.

"I don't know. I couldn't figure it out either. But I _know_ it was there."

"Well, let's worry about this in the morning. Go back to bed, everyone," Anna said. She got up and pointed out the door. The boys went back into their own room, and Anna shut the door, turned off the light, and got in bed. Lizzie lay there for while, too awake now to go back to sleep. She heard Anna roll over.

"Do you believe me?" she whispered.

"I don't know, Lizzie. I'm not sure what to think. Now go to sleep."

Lizzie sighed. She pulled the sheet around her tighter, and tried to forget all about the strange things that had happened. Sleep did not come quickly.

* * *

Lizzie woke up the next morning, dreading the conversation she knew she would have to have with her siblings later. It came after breakfast, while Maggie was cleaning and Aunt Polly was out in the garden.

"Ok, so would you care to explain what happened last night?" Thomas asked.

"It's just like I told you," Lizzie said plainly.

"What are you talking about? I mean, come on, snow in July? It just doesn't happen! Think about it, Lizzie. It's all impossible," said Anna.

"No it's not! I was there; I know it was real," replied Lizzie.

"You must have imagined it, because it can't be real," Thomas retorted.

"I did not!" Lizzie said, standing up out of her chair. Every time she spoke, her voice grew louder. "It was there, I'll prove it to you!"

"How?" said Ben.

"I'll show it to you. Come on, follow me!"

She led them down the hall and into the room. As she opened the door, she said,

"Now the door was right-" She stopped. The door was gone. "What on earth?" She ran up to the spot where the door had been and started running her hands up and down the wall. "I swear it was right here!" she said, turning back to face the others.

"Sure, Lizzie, whatever you say," said Thomas with a smug look on his face.

"Lizzie, face it. You made it up. How could something be there one day and not the next?" Anna asked.

"I don't know! I don't get it." Lizzie replied.

"Well, this has been fun, but it's getting kind of old," Thomas said as he walked out of the room. Ben followed him. Anna just shook her head.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Lizzie. You've never acted like this before," Anna said softly. She, too, turned and left the room. Lizzie reluctantly followed suit. She went back to her bedroom and grabbed her book, going to read in the room with the door. She was determined to wait there until the door came back and prove to her siblings that she wasn't crazy.


	3. Ben's Investigations

**AN:** So long time no update! So sorry about that, my internet filter was blocking this site, and I never got around to asking my mom to fix it, but I just realized today that I can get here again! I've written trough chapter ten, with about three more to go, so expect updates in the very near future! :)

**Chapter 3: Ben's Investigations and What Happened After That**

The next day Ben was thinking about what had happened with Lizzie and the dream. He knew she wasn't crazy, but at the same time he knew it couldn't be real. What should he do about it? _Should_ he do anything about it? He determined that maybe someone else might have some good advice. Who could he talk to? Then he thought of someone. He got up and went to find her.

* * *

"Aunt Polly? Aunt Polly, are you out here?" Ben called as he wandered into the back yard.

"Yes, dear! I'm over here," she called back. He walked over to where she was working on the garden.

"Can I talk to you about something? It's important," he said shyly.

"Of course! You can always talk to me. What is this important subject?"

"It's about my sister. Lizzie. She… well she had a dream the other night. She said she was in a snow-covered forest. But the weird thing was, she said it was real. She said she'd been there earlier that day. She showed us where she got in, but the door wasn't there. She's still convinced that it's real, but Anna and Thomas don't believe her, and I don't know what to think. I know she's not insane, but it seems so impossible for something like that to happen! I don't know what to do," he said dejectedly.

"Well, let's think for a moment. How can we know for sure it is or isn't real?"

"No one has ever gotten to another world before."

"Really? How do you know? Maybe someone has, and they just never told anyone. Just because something doesn't make sense doesn't mean it can't happen."

Ben thought about that. He could think of many things that didn't make sense, yet they happened.

"But why wouldn't they tell anyone?"

"Perhaps it was because they didn't think anyone would believe them," she said quietly, looking him straight in the eyes. He looked back at her curiously, wondering if she knew more than he did. He pushed that thought aside.

"So should I believe her or not?"

"That's entirely up to you. I can't tell you what to believe." He nodded and turned to leave. Shoving his hands deep in his pockets, he walked back towards the house.

Once inside, he went in his room and lay on his bed. His mind was spinning. He sighed. He didn't know what to think about this whole situation. Too bad Mum wasn't here. He knew she would have a solution. He didn't know who else to talk to. Anna and Thomas already decidedly didn't believe her, Aunt Polly didn't say one way or another whether she did or not, and he really didn't think the maid would be interested in something like this.

Then he got an idea. Maybe if it was real and the door came and went then maybe it would be there now. He jumped off his bed and raced down the hall to the room Lizzie had taken them to earlier. He swung the door open, and there, on the wall facing directly opposite to him, was a door on the wall that had not been there before. It was right where Lizzie had said it should be. Ben gasped in surprise. He ran to get the others.

* * *

Anna, Thomas, and Lizzie were sitting in the parlor reading when they heard footsteps pounding down the hallway. Lizzie looked up just as Ben appeared in the doorway.

"It's there! It's there! It's really real! You have to come see it before it goes away! Come quickly!" Ben spat out so fast it was almost unintelligible.

"Ok, slow down a bit, say it again," said Anna. Ben repeated what he had just said.

"Ben, what are you talking about?" Thomas asked, utterly confused.

"The door! The door that Lizzie was talking about! The one that leads to the forest!"

Lizzie's mouth dropped open in shock. How could that be? It wasn't there last time, so how could it be there now?

"I'm sure your just imagining it. We all saw it wasn't there," Anna said.

"But it's there now! I saw it. And you all had better come see it before it goes away again."

Lizzie didn't need another invitation. She slipped past her siblings and into the hallway. She started running. When she reached the room, she stopped before she went in. She closed her eyes and told herself that it probably wasn't actually there, so don't get your hopes up. Then she went in.

There it was, just like the first time. She almost couldn't believe it. She had so wanted it to be there, and it was. Then her siblings came up beside her, and she heard their surprised reactions. She walked forward and put her hand on the handle of the door. She looked back at her family, and gave a little smile. She turned the knob, opened the door and went in.

As she started climbing the first stairwell, she heard Anna call her name.

"Lizzie! Come back! It's probably not safe!" "_That doesn't matter," _she thought_. "I'm ready for whatever this new place holds."_

Ben ran up to the doorway and was about to go in when he felt a hand grab his arm. He spun around.

"Don't go in there, Ben." It was Anna. She was looking down at him with a stern face. He pulled his arm out of her grasp and went in. "Ben!" she called after him, but to no avail. She turned back and looked at Thomas. "It doesn't look like we have much of a choice. I guess we have to go in after them." Thomas rolled his eyes and sighed. He walked up and stood next to her. They looked at each other for a brief moment before Anna went in. Thomas followed.

When Anna and Thomas reached the top of the second stairway, Ben was standing there, just staring. The door there was wide open, and beyond it was a green forest. The sun was shining and it looked like a bright and happy place. The three of them stood there in awe.

"This doesn't look like snow," said Anna.

"No, not really," Thomas said. Ben walked forward, observing everything around him. The older two trailed behind.

"I wonder where Lizzie went?" asked Ben, as Lizzie was nowhere in sight.

"I don't know, but we should go find her," Anna said.

"Yeah, I don't like the looks of this place," said Thomas.

* * *

Once in the forest, Lizzie immediately started making her way to the stone circle. She still couldn't figure out why the snow was gone and it was so warm. Last time, it was the middle of winter, and now it felt like summer. It was all so beautiful, so green, and so alive. Lizzie was loving this place even more than she did on her first visit.

Reaching the stones, the first thing she noticed was there a crack all down the middle of the middle stone. "_How could that have gotten there?"_ she wondered. "_A stone like that would be awfully hard to break." _Once next to the stone, she brushed her hand along the crack. She walked up to the drop off and looked out. It was just as breathtaking as the first time, yet in a different way. Since the snow was all gone, it looked unlike last time. Then, hearing a noise behind her, she spun around.

It was her family. They approached the stones, all with bewildered looks on their faces. Ben looked happier than the rest, as if he were coming to a place he'd known forever, and that's how Lizzie felt too.

"Well, now that we've found her, we can go back," Thomas said.

"But I don't want to go. It's so wonderful here!" said Ben.

"I don't know. Maybe we shouldn't stay," Anna said.

"I'm not going yet. You all can do what you like, but I'm staying," Lizzie said firmly.

"But if we stay, where would we go?" asked Anna.

"Perhaps someone who knows this place could tell you," said a deep voice from behind them. They all spun around to see where it came from.

Standing there just past where the ground became stone was a huge white leopard, bigger than any of four children would have imagined a leopard to be. He had a magnificent air about him, very commanding and powerful. They all felt as if a great king was standing there.

"Could, could you tell us where to go?" Lizzie stammered, not really sure what to think of a talking leopard.

"Yes I could," the leopard replied.

Lizzie waited. She was expecting the leopard to expound on that statement, but he didn't, so she pressed further.

"_Will_ you tell us?"

"Of course I will. If you journey into the woods, you will come to a small river. Follow that river north until you reach a larger river. Follow that river west, until it empties into the sea. There you will find those who will welcome you."

The four of them turned to face each other. "Do you think we should go?" Anna asked, looking at Thomas.

"Of course not! How do we know who we'll find? It could all be nothing more than a trap," he replied.

"Excuse me, but, exactly _who_ will we find there?" Lizzie asked as she turned back around to face the leopard. But he was already gone.

"Well isn't that just fine and dandy. He tells us to look for somebody, but forgets to tell us who we're looking for," said Thomas, who was getting very anxious to get home.

"I don't think he forgot to tell us. I think he didn't tell us on purpose, so that we would want to find out for ourselves," Lizzie said thoughtfully.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to go," Anna said.

"Yes! Come on!" said Ben as he ran off in the direction the leopard had directed them.

"I don't think this is a good idea," said Thomas as he shook his head.

"Well I guess we're going to find out, aren't we?" said Anna.


	4. At The Rivers' End

So I really do kinda like this chapter. :) I hope you do too!

**Chapter 4: At the River's End**

The four walked through the woods along the river, and did eventually come to the bigger river, just as the leopard had said they would. Most of the way was not shaded by trees, so the going was very hot, since it was almost the peak of summer, which Lizzie found very odd, seeing as though a few days ago when she was here, it was the middle of winter and everything had been covered in snow. On they walked, and more than one of them spoke in favor of going back, but Lizzie and Ben insisted that they keep going. So on they went.

"Come on, how long are we going to go on like this?" Thomas whined.

"Until we get to the end of the river like the leopard said we would," Lizzie replied.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Ben asked.

"I don't have one," Thomas grunted in response.

They kept walking, mostly in silence. Lizzie wondered who they would find at the end of the river. "_Probably nice grownups, not the normal kind, but the kind who are nice and don't make you go to bed early," _she thought to herself. She wondered what their house would be like. She decided that it was a cozy cottage that would have a lovely view of the ocean. She was pulled out of her thoughts by Ben's excited voice.

"Look! Can you see that?" he shouted.

"See what? There's nothing there," Thomas said.

"No, it is there, I can see it too!" said Lizzie. It was still a bit off in the distance, but it was most assuredly there. There was a castle right at the edge of the ocean. The castle was grand one, with lots of towers and such. Lizzie could hardly wait to get there. This was so much better than she had imagined! She was so excited, that she grinned at Ben, and took off running. She heard him laugh, and she looked behind her. He was running too.

Lizzie and Ben arrived at the gate to the castle, and they were both out of breath. By the time they could catch their breath, Anna and Thomas had arrived too.

"What now?" Anna asked.

"Are you friends or foes?" asked a voice behind them. They turned around, and on either side of the door were standing a strange creature that was half horse and half man. Lizzie remembered reading about things like this in books. She never thought that they actually did exist.

"Um, friends," Lizzie said.

"You do not sound so sure of yourself," one of the creatures said.

"Well, we talked to a leopard, and he told us that we would find friends here," Ben explained.

"Then I suppose you are looking for the Kings and Queens," the creature replied.

"I suppose we are," Lizzie said with a small smile.

"This way, if you please," the creature said as he returned her smile, motioning through the gate.

They were escorted through a small courtyard, which was empty. At the other end was a small doorway, which the creature opened, and motioned for them to enter. On the other side of the door was another courtyard, but this one was much different. It was much larger, and full of all sorts of mythical creatures and animals that Lizzie had read about in books. The creature (which she now remembered was called a centaur) led them through the courtyard. Lizzie looked around in awe. The walls, floor and pillars were made of solid marble, and the huge windows let in beautiful sunlight. She loved this place already.

"Ah, Tumnus!" the centaur called to a faun. The faun came over. "Visitors for the Kings and Queens," the centaur said.

"Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve, you are most welcome. Follow me, please," the faun said.

He took them down a hallway, away from the busy courtyard. He turned down another hall, which led to another hall. Lizzie was entirely lost. The faun stopped in front of a door. "Wait just a moment," he said, and then proceeded to go in. They waited, and they could hear voices, but could not make out what was being said. The faun came back out after a minute. "You may enter," he said, motioning to the room. Suddenly Lizzie was very nervous. What if the Kings and Queens didn't like them? What if they didn't want children around? But she was reassured when she remembered that the leopard had said they would find friends. She went in first.

Lizzie was shocked when she saw who was in the room. There were children, and they looked about the same age her Lizzie and her siblings! There was a boy who looked to be about Anna's age, and two girls, one looked to be around Thomas's age, and the other around Ben's age. She didn't know what to say.

"Welcome!" said the boy as he and the two girls came over to greet Lizzie and her family. "My name is Peter," he said, "and these are my sisters, Susan and Lucy."

"We have another brother as well," said the younger girl, whom the boy had said was named Lucy, "but I'm not quite sure where he is right now."

Ben piped up to introduce them. "I'm Ben, and this is Lizzie, and Anna, and Thomas."

"We are so glad you are here," said the older girl, whose name was Susan.

"It's a pleasure to me you all, your Majesties," Lizzie said a bit softly.

"Oh please don't call us that. There's no need for it," said Susan.

"You have no idea how wonderful it is to see other children. We've been here for over two months, and there aren't any children for us to play with," said Lucy.

Peter wrapped his arm around Lucy. "Well, we've been making our own fun," he said.

"But it's always more fun when there's more children to play with," said Ben.

"That's true," said Peter. Lizzie was quiet, taking in these new friends. She decided she liked them very much. The other children carried on the conversation, while she let her mind wander. _"I wonder how long we'll stay," _she thought to herself. She was startled when she heard Peter's voice.

"Ah, there he is!" Peter said. She turned around to see a boy that looked her age standing in the doorway with a bit of a perplexed look on his face. "This is our brother Edmund," said Peter, and then he proceeded to introduce Lizzie and her siblings to the boy.

"Where have you been?" Lucy asked him.

"I was talking to Orieus about what to do for the stable repairs," Edmund replied. Lizzie could already tell that he was a very observant boy. He watched everything very carefully. The conversation picked up again, and soon the children were laughing and having a good time. After a few minutes, Lizzie let her gaze wander back to Edmund. She found him watching her. He quickly looked away when he realized she was looking at him. She looked away too, pretending like nothing happened. Another few minutes passed, and she looked back at him. He was watching her again, and he quickly glanced away again.

"Well, why don't we show you to your rooms?" Peter asked.

"Oh, we're not staying for the night!" Anna said.

"Oh, please! Please do!" Lucy begged.

"We couldn't have it any other way," said Susan.

"Please Anna?" Ben asked.

Anna looked at Thomas. He shook his head no. Anna paused a moment before responding. "Well, I suppose," she said. Ben smiled. Lizzie felt a hand slip in hers. It was Lucy's.

"Come on!" Lucy said to her, "follow me!"

* * *

Edmund stayed behind with Peter, and he knew there wasn't a chance that he would be able to get Lizzie out of his mind. He watched her on her way out of the room until he couldn't see her anymore.

"So you like her a lot, don't you?" Peter asked. Edmund spun around to see Peter giving him a silly look.

"Who?" Edmund replied.

"The younger girl, Lizzie. You know, the one with the red hair and the blue eyes."

"Oh, her. And for your information, no I do not."

"Really? Because I think you do. I saw you watching her, Ed."

"I was not!"

"Mm hmm. Sure you weren't."

"I wasn't!"

"Come on, Ed. You think I can't tell when you notice a girl? Besides, why shouldn't you like her?"

"Why _should_ I like her? I don't even know her yet!"

"Ed, relax! It's alright if you notice her, I mean, I would be a bit worried if you didn't. After all, she is pretty."

Edmund didn't respond right away. "Alright, so I looked at her. Is that wrong?"

"No, of course not! You're growing up, and it's only natural that start noticing girls."

"Yeah, whatever." Peter just smiled and mussed Edmund's hair before leaving the room. Edmund sat down and ran his fingers through his hair, putting it back how he liked it. His mind drifted back to Lizzie. She was definitely the prettiest girl he'd ever seen. He sighed. "_This can't be right. I'm too young to feel like this, aren't I?" _he thought. _"What am I going to do?" _He decided that he would find the answer to that question later.

* * *

"This will be your room," Lucy said as she opened a door. They both walked in. Lizzie looked around in awe. The room was amazing. It had two windows, one on either side of the bed. The room also had its own adjoining bathroom, and the closet was full a beautiful dresses.

"This is too much. I don't need all this," Lizzie said.

"Oh, I want you to stay here! My room is just down the hall, and Susan's is next to mine if you need anything. See if you can find something in the closet that fits," Lucy said with a smile as she left the room.

Lizzie walked over to the closet and picked out a dress. _"Staying here is going to be wonderful," _she decided. She sat down on the bed. Why had Edmund been watching her? He couldn't _like _her, could he? After all, they had only just met. She shook her head. He couldn't like her like that, she was sure of it.


	5. New Friends

Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I have a lot more written, so I will be updating again soon! Please review! :)

**Chapter 5: New Friends**

The conversation at dinner was a bit predictable, just everyone getting to know each other. The food was delicious, and tasted especially good after such a long walk earlier that morning. Lizzie tried not to think about it too much, but whenever she looked Edmund's way, he was always looking at her. She didn't know how that made her feel. She'd never had a boy give her attention like this, and she didn't know how to respond. From what she could gather, he seemed nice, so that put her a bit at ease, but it was hard to tell, since he didn't talk a whole lot.

After dinner, Lucy and Susan gave Lizzie and Anna a tour of the castle, which they called Cair Paravel. Each room was even more breathtaking then the last. This castle was far better than any Lizzie had ever seen in pictures back in England. Everything was covered in marble, gold, silver, gems, or other precious things. But yet none of it was showy, or meant to be ostentatious, Lizzie could sense.

Lizzie loved the castle. It was like something out of a fairytale or storybook, or perhaps it was like something she had dreamt. There was stained glass in many of the castle windows, each one telling a story, and she felt as though she could look at them for hours, almost like reading a book. There was a window in one of the banquet halls that showed a beautiful picture of a lion. He was standing on top of a boulder, looking very noble and powerful, yet kind and understanding somehow. Lizzie liked that one the best.

During their tour, Susan and Lucy told them about how they had become Kings and Queens of this place, which was called Narnia. Lizzie was fascinated with the story. There was so much adventure, so much magic about the whole thing. It made her like this place even more.

* * *

Edmund ran his fingers along the binding of the books on the shelf. The library was his favorite place in all of Cair Paravel. Reading had always been his escape when he needed one. Right now he was trying to escape from his thoughts of Lizzie. He had only met her a few hours ago, yet he couldn't seem to stop thinking about her. She had an elegance about her, a sweetness that none of the girls at his school back in England had, and he really liked that. Suddenly he heard the door to the library open. He looked up to see who was there. It was Lizzie. She saw him standing there, mumbled an apology, and turned around to leave.

"Wait," he said, "you don't have to go."

"I don't want to bother you," she said quietly.

"You won't bother me," he replied with a smile as he shook his head.

"Are you sure?" she asked. He nodded.

"Positive. Were you looking for any book in particular?" She shook her head. "Well, what do you like to read?"

"History has always been my favorite subject in school," she whispered.

"History it is, then." He skimmed the shelves, looking for a good history book to have her read. He found one he had already read and really enjoyed. He pulled it off the shelf and handed it to her. "Here, I think you'll like this one."

"Thanks," she said, her voice still a whisper.

* * *

Lizzie saw his soft brown eyes search her face. He lifted his hand and brushed his fingertips across the gash on her face that was still there from the air raid. The touch of his skin on hers took her breath away, and butterflies began to dance in her stomach.

"What happened?" he asked softly as he lowered his hand back to his side.

"The air raids," she replied.

"Oh. Did you have to leave London too?"

"Yes. Didn't everyone?"

"Us too, you know."

"I know. Lucy and Susan told us all about it."

"I figured they might have. Lucy tends to tell everything to everyone," he said with a smile.

"That's alright. I don't mind," said Lizzie, smiling as well. "Well, thanks for your help. I'm sure I'll enjoy reading this," she said, referring to the book in her hands.

"If, if you want, you can, stay here," he stammered.

"Oh, um, okay," she said slowly. They went over and sat on a settee that was next to the bookshelves. They talked for a long time, getting to know each other. Lizzie found that she really enjoyed herself. Edmund opened up a bit, and wasn't as shy as she thought he was, and he was actually rather funny. Time went by quickly, and they found that it was almost time for supper. They both went back to their rooms to freshen up before heading to the dining room.

* * *

At supper, things were different than before. Whenever Lizzie looked up at Edmund, there was no more quick, embarrassed looking away. Edmund just smiled at her, and she smiled back. She felt much more comfortable now, since things weren't as awkward between the two of them.

The discussion was more relaxed than at the earlier meal. The children all seemed even more comfortable now than they had before. Lizzie was excited to get to know each one of the four Pevensies. They all seemed so nice. She was happy at the thought of making friends. She had always had a hard time making friends back in England, ever since she could remember. It wasn't that she didn't try to make friends; it just seemed that no one wanted to be her friend. She had eventually gotten used to the idea, and resorted to having one close friend, whose name was Anabelle. She and Anabelle had been best friends since they were very young, and missed not seeing her during the evacuation.

Dinner was followed by board games. The children all had a good time, laughing and talking. After they finished their games, Lizzie retired to her room. It had been a long day, and she was very tired. As she lay in her bed with the cool night breeze blowing on her and the moonlight filling her room, she thought about the events of the day. So much had happened. She wondered what Aunt Polly would think. The thought startled her. Aunt Polly must be so worried! Lizzie almost got out of bed to go get her siblings to tell them they must go back to England immediately, but she thought better of it. There was no way they were going to travel all that way at that time of night. They would have to leave in the morning.

Lizzie sighed. She didn't want to leave. Aunt Polly was nice and all, but it was so wonderful here. The scenery was so beautiful, like nothing back in England. The food was good too, and Lizzie was actually making friends. Maybe she could talk her family into staying. She drifted to sleep, trying to think of reasons that would convince them to stay.

* * *

The next morning Lizzie woke up to the lovely site of bright sunshine cast across her room. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She had slept very well that night. She set her bare feet on the hardwood floor and made her way over to the wardrobe. She leafed through the dresses that were hanging in it, struggling to pick one. She wanted to wear them all! She finally settled on one that was made of a soft baby blue satin. She brushed her hair, and then decided that it was time to see what her family was up to.

She found Anna, Susan and Lucy strolling through the gardens. She could hear them talking from a bit away. She heard Lucy say, "Oh don't worry, we'll teach you how!"

"Teach us what?" Lizzie asked, causing all three girls to turn around and look at her.

"How to fight! Like archery and that sort of thing," Lucy replied.

"Why would we ever need to know anything like that?" Lizzie asked, a bit confused.

"Well, I guess if you don't want to fight in battles, you don't have to learn how," Susan said.

"Oh, I didn't say I didn't want to learn. I just wondered what I would use it for," Lizzie said with a small grin.

"Well, we'll see. I'm not sure I'm too thrilled with the idea," said Anna.

Susan and Lucy kept walking, but Anna put her hand on Lizzie's arm. The two of them stayed back. Lizzie could tell by the look on her sister's face that she was worried about something, that she had something she wanted to talk about. This made her nervous. _"What if she wants to go back?"_ she thought.

"Lizzie, don't get your heart set on staying here," Anna said quietly.

"Why? Why can't we stay?"

"You know why! Because everyone back home will worry about us, that's why!"

"But if we stay here, we don't have to worry about the war, or anything else back home for that matter! Please? Can't we stay for at least a few days?"

Anna sighed and looked down. Lizzie could see her thinking hard about what she'd said. Several moments of silence passed. Anna didn't say anything for a while. Finally, she looked up.

"Alright, we can stay for a few days. But that's all, and then we're going home!" Anna said.

Lizzie smiled excitedly. "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. I'll make sure I tell the boys."

* * *

Lizzie wandered outside. She could hear voices, and followed her ears. She found her way to an open, grassy area, where she saw Edmund sparring with a faun. Both of them were breathing hard, and their skin was shiny with sweat. Edmund spotted her watching and waved to her, and she waved back. Edmund shook hands with the faun, who then left. Edmund walked over to her.

"What exactly were you doing?" Lizzie asked.

"Oh, just getting a bit of practice. Did you want to try?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't! I just, see, I could never-"

"You know you want to," Edmund said with a grin.

Lizzie paused. "But I don't know how."

"I could teach you."

Lizzie looked at him uncertainly. It sounded fun, but she was a little scared. She'd never tried anything like this before. She thought about it for a moment, and decided to give it a shot.

"Ok, I guess I can try it."

"Great! You're going to have a lot of fun, trust me," Edmund said as he went over to a wooden rack that was holding many different swords. He rummaged though through the assortment before he pulled one out. "Here you go, you can use this one," he said as he handed it to her. She pulled it out of its scabbard and looked at him expectantly.

"Well, now what?" she asked. He proceeded to show how to hold a sword, how to use it, and the basic knowledge of sword fighting. Before too long, they were having an easy spar.

"You know, you're pretty good at this," Edmund said after a while. "Are you sure you've never done this before?"

"I think that if I had ever used an over-sized kitchen knife in a fight before, I would remember," Lizzie replied, causing Edmund to chuckle. A moment later, Lizzie accidently brought her sword down against his a little too close to his hilt. Her momentum caused her hands to slip a bit, and her sword slipped as well, slicing the back of Edmund's hand. He cried out and jumped back, dropping his sword on the ground. Lizzie dropped hers too, and ran over to see if he was alright.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?"

"Oh, I'm fine. It's not that bad, really." He used the front of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. "I've lived through worse. Don't forget, I do have an older brother."

"Come on! This isn't funny!"

"Alright, here, see for yourself," he said, holding out his hand. Lizzie stepped closer to get a better look. He was right, it really wasn't that bad. It was bleeding a bit, but nothing serious. But this didn't comfort her at all.

"I feel so awful! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Accidents happen. I mean, it was an accident, wasn't it?" Edmund said with a mischievous grin.

"Stop it! That one wasn't funny either!"

"Oh come on, not even a little?"

"No, not at all."

"Ok fine. I know it was an accident. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Come on, I think it should be about time to eat."

* * *

Days passed with no discussion of Lizzie and her siblings going back to England. Lizzie didn't want to go back, so she was careful to never bring the subject up in a conversation. Nobody else brought it up either. So time went on, and the children all became close friends quickly. They spent many days playing games outside, like tag and cricket and such. The Pevensies taught the Moores all about sword fighting and archery and the like. Lizzie was becoming quite good at the archery and sword fighting, and actually found both fun.

Lizzie and Edmund spent a lot of time together, whether they were just talking, or sometimes even sparring. They were already getting to know each other quite well. Lizzie felt completely comfortable around him now. She had really opened up to him, and he had done the same with her. She often wondered if he was sweet on her. There was something about the way he looked at her that was different than the way he looked at everyone else. She figured she was just imagining it, or just reading into it, but she secretly hoped she wasn't.


	6. A Game, an Adventure, and a Talk

Long time no update, I know. But I will be updating more, I promise! I am actually in the middle of writing chapter 14, so I've got lots ready to post as long as I can convince myself I don't want to change anything. That is something I am constantly afraid of haha :P And as of today I am starting another Ed/OC fic. Something I swore I would never do but I really like this idea I got. But yes, enjoy this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW! :D P.S. I've updated the summary, just a little sneak peek at chapter 13 ;) Oh and I just realized that none of my sections breaks were working! So I have gone and fixed them all, sorry about that!

**Chapter 6: A Game, an Adventure, and a Talk**

Several days later, Edmund challenged Lizzie to a game of chess. They didn't talk much during the game, except for an occasional joke cracked by Edmund, and any response Lizzie had. He could always make her laugh, and she loved that.

"So how long have you been playing chess?" Edmund asked her.

"Hmm, I guess a couple of years. What about you?" she replied.

"Same," he said.

Lizzie moved one of her pieces. "It's not going to work, you know," she said matter-of-factly.

"What's not going to work? Do you find fault with my expert strategy?" he said, looking very confused.

"No. If you think that by starting a conversation, you will distract me and cause me to not play as well, you are wrong," she responded.

"But I wasn't! I wasn't trying to distract you! Pardon me for trying to be polite!" he said. Lizzie looked up at him, and saw a silly smile on his face. She laughed, and so did he.

Several minutes later, not many pieces remained on the board. But that didn't bother Lizzie. The game was going exactly the way she wanted. She moved a rook a few spaces forward. Edmund's next move would naturally be to remove that rook with his horse. If he did, she could take his horse off with one of her pawns. If he didn't move that horse, she could take it off with her queen. But she was hoping that he was smarter than that.

"I'm not going to fall for that. You should have known that," he said.

She tried not to smile. He proceeded to move his horse away from her rook, putting that piece out of danger. "Your turn," Edmund said.

"I did know that you're smarter than that. I planned on that, actually," she said.

"Oh really?" he said. "Then why did you move there?"

"Because I was hope you would do exactly what you did."

"And why is that?"

"This is why," she said, moving her queen in the now unprotected area that his horse had been guarding. Her queen was directly in front of his king. "Checkmate, Ed," she said a bit smugly.

"What? How did you... but, that's not possible, you couldn't have-" he sputtered in disbelief.

She started giggling. He looked up at her; he was now silent. He studied her for a moment, then shook his head. "How did you do that?" he asked incredulously.

"You think I'm going to tell you my secrets?" she replied.

"I have to admit, you're pretty good. I don't lose often," said Edmund.

"I never lose," Lizzie responded.

"What? You _never_ lose? Not _ever_?"

She shook her head. "I've never lost a game of chess in my life," she said through her giggles.

Edmund leaned back in his chair. "Wow, that's impressive." He paused, and was obviously deep in thought. "Are you serious?" he asked incredulously. Lizzie nodded. "But that can't be possible!"

"Oh, sure it can!"

"I want a rematch," he said promptly.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Lizzie said, still giggling.

He nodded. "Positive."

"Right now?"

"Yep. Right now."

"Ok, but I'm not going to show you any mercy."

"I don't need mercy. I have skill," he said with a voice that had an air of superiority.

Lizzie laughed. "We'll see about that."

* * *

One night Lizzie was lying in bed, wide awake. It was a particularly hot night, the kind of weather that makes you feel sticky all over. When she went to bed, she had left the window open, hoping there would be a breeze. There was none; just still, hot air. Eventually she got up and closed the window, since it was so muggy outside. After a while, she opened it back up, as she felt it was getting too stuffy.

Unable to fall asleep, she tossed and turned._ "This is miserable,"_ she thought, and it really was. She was tired and wide awake at the same time, like when you just want to go to sleep, but you can't, no matter how hard you try.

On and on this went, for what seemed like hours to Lizzie. She flipped her pillow over, and buried her face in its coolness. She was in this state when she thought she heard a quiet tapping sound. Thinking she was imaging things, she sat up and strained her ears. She heard it again, she was sure of it this time. It sounded as if someone was knocking on her door. _"That's odd. Who would be knocking on my door at this time of night?" _she asked herself.

Before she could get out of bed, she could hear the door handle turning slowly. The door opened noiselessly, and at first, the darkness of the passageway made it look as if no one was there. But then someone stepped out of the shadows, into the moonlight that was streaming in through the open window. It was Edmund. He took a few steps toward her bed, and he was obviously trying to be quiet.

"Lizzie, are you awake?" he whispered softly.

"Yes. It's too hot out, I can't fall asleep for anything," she whispered back.

"Me neither. And it's dead still, too. Not a lick of wind at all."

"I know. This weather is awful."

"Well, I had an idea," he told her.

"What's that?" she asked.

"You want to go swimming?"

"Now? It's the middle of the night!"

"I know, but who cares? It will feel like heaven, at any rate. Just think of the cold water, and how good it will feel to just jump in and cool off and-"

"Ok, fine, you've talked me into it," she said.

"Great! I'll go change, and you can too, and then we'll me in the hallway in a few minutes, ok?" he whispered excitedly.

"Ok, I'll be right out," she replied.

Edmund made his way back to the hallway, and quietly shut the door. Lizzie got up and went over to her dresser. She smiled to herself. _"This really is going to be fun," _she realized. She opened a drawer, and pulled out her swimming dress. It was a tan, knee-length dress made of lightweight cotton. She stepped out of her nightgown, and slipped her swimming dress over her head.

She stepped into the hallway, being careful to be quiet so as not to wake anyone. She knew if they were caught, they would be in a heap of trouble with their older siblings. When she turned around, she saw Edmund standing there, waiting for her. He motioned for her to follow him. They padded softly down the corridor, their bare feet making almost no sound on the marble floor. Without a word, Edmund reached out and gently took her hand in his. Lizzie bit her lip; she hadn't expected him to do that. But she didn't mind, though. The feel of his warm skin on her own sent shivers down her spine.

They walked down the passageway like this, hand in hand. After making their way through many hallways and staircases, they finally came to a door that led to one of the lawns outside the castle. They ran across the open grass, their hands still linked. They were heading toward their favorite swimming spot, one they had been to many a hot afternoon during the past few weeks of summer. It was a small cliff that overlooked the ocean and could be seen from the castle. They loved swimming there; they could jump off the edge, and go plunging into the deep, cold water below.

With a bit of a climb, they finally made it to the top of the cliff, and stood hand in hand at the edge, looking out at the dark water that was only lit by the full moon. The ocean looked a lot more intimidating in the darkness of the night. Lizzie started having second thoughts.

"I'm not so sure about this, Edmund," she said uncertainly. "Maybe this isn't such a great idea."

"Oh come on! You're not _scared_, are you?" he teased.

"No! It's not that, it's just, well, I don't know that we should."

"It's fine. There's nothing to worry about! You want to go first?" he asked her.

She thought about this for a moment. She didn't really want to go first, but she didn't want to be up here on the cliff alone, either. "No, you can," she finally said.

"Fine with me. Suit yourself!" Edmund replied, and without another word, he let go of her hand and jumped in.

Down, down, down he fell. Lizzie watched as he plummeted toward the surface of the water. Finally, a splash. A few moments later, she could see his head come back above the water. "Come on!" he shouted up to her. "The water feels great!"

She shook her head, although he couldn't see that. "No thanks!" she called back to him. "I don't think I want to!"

"You're not going to chicken out on me now, are you?"

She didn't respond. She saw him swim over to the shoreline, get out of the water, and make the climb back up the hill to the cliff. When he got to the top, he was breathing heavily. He came over to join her by the edge.

"Come on, you have to do it, at least once!" he said.

"No, I'm just fine, thanks."

"Please? Just once?" he pleaded. She shook her head. "Why not? Give me one good reason!"

"I just don't want to," she said, picking at the stitching of her dress.

"That's not good enough," he stated. Since Lizzie was looking down at her dress, she never saw him coming. Before she knew what was happening, Edmund had picked her up, and flung her over the edge. She found herself plunging to the water, and screamed. It seemed like she was falling for an eternity, until suddenly the water was right below her. The next moment the cold water hit her skin, and closed around her head. Her skin was so warm, that it felt she has just fallen into an ocean of ice blocks. Her lungs screamed for air as she swam back to the surface.

Her head finally came up out of the water, and she gulped in the air. She could hear Edmund laughing hysterically, even with how far away he was.

"You're so mean!" she screamed at him when she had caught her breath. "Of all the beastly things!" He didn't respond, he just kept laughing. She swam back to the shore, made the trek back up the hill, and marched over to him. He stood there with a silly grin on his face. "Why would you do that? I said I didn't want to go in!" she yelled.

"Oh, but you should've seen the look on your face! I'd give a lot just to see that again!" he said, maintaining that mischievous smirk.

"Well, I think it was a simply horrid thing for you to do!" she huffed. He just kept grinning at her. "You're quite proud of yourself, aren't you?" she cried.

"Aw, lighten up! It was all in good fun!" he replied.

"Oh really?" she said, tipping her head slightly. Then she reached out both hands and pushed him as hard as she possibly could. He stumbled backward toward the edge and lost his balance. But he had been prepared for that. He did the only thing he could do; he grabbed her arm.

"If I'm going, then you're coming with me!" he shouted. She tried to pull away, but it was too late. Over the edge they went. They sped down to the water, racing toward it like a speeding arrow. Lizzie felt the icy water close around her again. This time she had remembered to take a deep breath before falling under. Reaching the surface, she looked around for Edmund. He wasn't there. She waited a few moments, but still no sign of him. She started to panic. _"What if he hit his head on something under water?"_

"Edmund!" she screamed frantically. "Edmund! Where are you?" She looked around, straining her eyes to try to see below the surface of the water, but it was too dark; she couldn't see could feel hot tears start to roll down her cheeks._ "This is my fault! I should have never agreed to come out here! What am I going to say to the others?" _She had no idea what to do.

She was trying to figure out what on earth she was to do, when suddenly she felt something touch her waist. She screamed and whipped around to see Edmund's face right next to her own, complete with impish grin. "What the-" she whispered. Edmund burst out laughing. When she realized what he had done, Lizzie was enraged. "What on earth were you thinking? No, you weren't thinking! Do have any idea how badly you scared me?" she ranted, while Edmund was just laughing the whole time.

"Oh, that was great! The look on your face-" he started, but Lizzie cut him off.

"You're hopeless! And quite possibly heartless, too!" She started swimming back to the beach.

"Hey, wait up!" he called, and started swimming after her. "Come on, Lizzie, relax. It was only a joke!" he said when they reached the shore.

"Well, it wasn't funny!" she said reproachfully. She turned so she couldn't see him, and crossed her arms over her chest. _"Why would he do that?" _she wondered. She heard him walk up behind her. He put his wet hands on her wet shoulders.

"Why are you so upset? I was only teasing you and I never meant it to be mean or anything," he quietly.

Lizzie took a deep, shaky breath before responding. "I thought you had been hurt, or, well, maybe worse," she said unsteadily. The tears started to fall again, but she brushed them away quickly; she didn't want to let him see that she was crying. But it was too late. He stepped around her so that they were facing each other.

"Hey, it's alright. Please don't cry, whatever you do. I'm just fine, see?" he said, trying to comfort her. He put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up, forcing her to look at him. Then he gently pulled at her arms until she let him take her hands in his. She looked at him expectantly. He interpreted her look correctly. "What?" he asked. "I suppose you want me to apologize, don't you?" She nodded. "Alright, I'm sorry. Really, I am. I should've have known better."

"Yes, you should have. Do you promise to never pull something like this again?"

"What? Never pull a joke on you? I can't agree to that. I just can't!" he said, throwing his hands in the air.

"Yes, I have realized that by now. Just nothing quite so drastic, alright?"

"Ok, fine. Have it your way."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise. Can we get back to our swimming now?" Lizzie nodded, and they started back up the hill. Before long, Lizzie had forgotten about the incident, and they were having a grand time. Sometimes they jumped off; sometimes they pushed each other in. If anyone had been around, they would have heard lots of laughter. After a while, they decided they didn't want to climb up the hill anymore, so they say on the beach and talked for a little while before going back inside.

* * *

He knocked on the door. He knew he should do this, but he really didn't want to. He was hoping that there wouldn't be an answer from the other side of the door. His hopes were quickly crushed when he heard a voice call from inside the room "I'm coming, just a moment." Edmund sighed. _"Why am I making this so hard for myself?"_ he wondered. Before he had time to think of an answer to that, the door opened, and there stood Peter. "Hey, Ed! Need something?" his brother asked.

"Well, sort of. Can we talk?" Edmund mumbled.

"Sure! Come on in," Peter replied. "Make yourself at home," he said, but Edmund had already made himself comfortable in an armchair. "I guess you've done that, haven't you?" Peter asked after seeing this. Edmund nodded. Peter sat down on a sofa opposite Edmund. "So, what's on your mind?"

Edmund leaned forward and put his face in his hands. He sighed, and ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair. "I'm confused," he finally said.

"About what?" Peter probed. Edmund didn't respond. "Ed?"

"Just give me a second, ok? I'm trying to figure out the best way to say this," he said, clearly frustrated.

"Let me help. Is it about Lizzie, by any chance?"

Edmund looked up sharply. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," Peter said sarcastically. "Come on, Ed, everyone knows by now," he said, this time more seriously.

"Knows what?"

"About you and Lizzie! It's pretty obvious that there's something going on between the two of you." Edmund started combing his fingers through his hair again. "So what exactly is bothering you?"

Edmund paused and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid of what everyone would think if we, you know, if I…"

"If you started courting her?" Peter said quietly. Edmund sighed, and nodded. He paused before saying anything, and once more raking his fingers through his hair.

"Golly, what would Susan say? You know how she can be. And what would the Narnians think? She and I are still so young, they might think I'm being foolish, and I can't have that! And what about-"

Peter cut him off. "Edmund, calm down! First of all, you're not going have any hair left if you keep doing that! Secondly, you're over-thinking this! Why are you suddenly so afraid of what everybody else would think? You've never cared two pence about what anyone else thinks, so why are you starting now?"

Edmund looked down at his feet. "I just feel like I have a lot left to prove," he murmured.

"Because of what happened with the Witch?" Peter asked. Edmund nodded. "I don't think you need to be so worried about that."

"Why? The Narnians have no obligation to trust me or my judgment. Neither do you or the girls, for that matter."

"Ed, you've done more than enough to show us that you're different now. I never thought I would have to say this to you, of all people, but you need a little more confidence in yourself."

Edmund looked up. "So you think they would trust me with this?" Peter nodded, and Edmund visibly relaxed when he did. After a moment, he tensed up again. "What about you? Do you trust me?" he asked, looking at Peter uncertainly. Peter nodded again.

"You're a different person now than you were then. Would I trust the old Edmund with something like this? No, not for a moment. But the new Edmund? Yes, I would. You've grown up a lot since then. Don't think that it's gone unnoticed." Peter stood up, and so did Edmund. As they walked toward the door, Peter put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Did I help you solve your problem?" Edmund nodded, and even managed a small smile.

"Yes, you did. Thanks for your help. And thanks for understanding," he replied. He put his hand on the doorknob, but instead of opening the door, he turned back to look at Peter. "Did you really mean all that? The stuff you said about me being different and all?"

"As much as I've ever meant anything."

"That means a lot to me. More than you know."

"Just be careful, alright?"

"I will be." Edmund opened the door and stepped into the corridor.

"Ed," called Peter. Edmund turned around. "You can always talk to me about anything. You know that, right?" Edmund smiled, and nodded.


End file.
